IBS at uni

[Globules]

DD is hoping to go to uni Sept 24.

Her IBS is flaring up quite a lot, to the extent that she's missed quite a few days of yr13. The Dr said he's done all he can for her. She tries to manage it with her diet, but to a greater or lesser degree.

Is there any support she'll be able to access at uni if this makes her fall behind with her studies? Anything I need to put in place now to make the path as smooth as possible for her later?

My youngest was allocated guaranteed en suite accommodation at a reduced cost, which was helpful, so when applying for accommodation get a doctor's letter and let them know about it.

When she applies for student finance tick the DSA box which will trigger a needs assessment and flag her application to the uni student support team. Also worth a conversation with the relevant a accommodation team once she gets to that stage.

Definitely have conversations with the student support teams and apply for DSA. They’ll be able to set up mitigating circumstances so your daughter can get extensions if she’s struggling at deadline time and help with accommodation. Practical tips:

• get en suite accommodation located as centrally to her building as possible, and well located within the accommodation block - so not the tenth floor at the back of the building
• get her to spend time in welcome week (or the week before if you can go then) checking where her classes are and where the nearest toilets are
• decide in advance if she’ll stay with your home GP or go to the uni GP

Every uni will differ in their procedures, but at mine we'd be telling her to speak to disability services who can put arrangements in place. Typical adjustments would be flexibility with deadlines, and also rest breaks in exams and exams in smaller rooms near a loo.

Has she seen a dietician? Not a nutritionist. They can go over FODMAP with her and see if that helps identify triggers.

GPs are poor at helping you deal with IBS in my experience.

I agree with everything with everything that's been suggested already but particularly this from @ColleenDonaghy.

DH was diagnosed with IBS by the GP. Suffered for years and we eventually worked out that it's an allergy to sulphites.